Evaluative Conditioning (Week 9)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and concepts from Week 9 lecture on Evaluative Conditioning.

Evaluative Conditioning

Conditioning of likes and dislikes to neutral stimuli by pairing them with already liked or disliked stimuli; shapes attitudes toward objects like food or music.

Conditioned Stimulus (CS) in EC

A neutral stimulus that becomes liked or disliked after being paired with a valenced unconditioned stimulus.

Unconditioned Stimulus (US) in EC

A stimulus with inherent positive or negative valence used to pair with the CS to influence the CS's evaluation.

Positive US

A positively valenced stimulus used to make the CS more liked when paired with it.

Negative US

A negatively valenced stimulus used to make the CS more disliked when paired with it.

CS + Positive US → CS Liked

Rule: pairing a CS with a positive US increases the CS's liking.

CS + Negative US → CS Disliked

Rule: pairing a CS with a negative US decreases the CS's liking.

EC vs Classical Conditioning

EC changes the evaluation/attitude toward the CS rather than eliciting a primary reflex; classical conditioning targets reflexes.

Picture-Picture Paradigm

Levey & Martin (1975) method: rate paintings as liked/neutral/disliked, pair neutral pictures with liked/disliked ones (20 pairings), then rate again to observe changes in liking.

Mere Exposure

Exposure to stimuli increases liking, even without explicit pairing with a valenced US (often used in advertising).

Visual Domain (Levey & Martin, 1975)

EC demonstrations using pictures/paintings to show changes in liking across a visual domain.

Razran (1954) Early Demonstrations

Early studies showing conditioned evocation of attitudes to verbal stimuli (e.g., Make love, not war) rather than physiological responses.

Gustatory Domain (Zellner, 1983)

EC with flavored teas; CS+ with sugar vs CS- plain; measuring preference ratings for teas.

Baeyens (1990) Fruit Flavours

Fruit-flavour EC study using CS+ flavour+sugar vs CS- flavour alone; discusses why positive shifts can be less reliable due to valence perception and biases.

Todrank (1995) Cross-modal Domain

EC across modalities by pairing odors with faces; assess changes in face liking after pairings.

Biologically Significant USs

USs that are biologically important (e.g., shock); EC can involve second-order stimuli; less common due to confounds; affective priming used as indirect measure.

Affective Priming Task

Indirect EC measure: a prime precedes the target; faster responses when prime and target share valence.

Extinction (De Houwer et al., 2000)

Extinction procedure showing how CS valence reduces after CS-US pairings are diminished or omitted.

Statistical Contingency (Baeyens et al., 1993)

Examines effects of perfect vs partial CS-US contingencies on acquisition and testing; includes CS Composite conditions.

Contingency Awareness (Field, 2000)

Awareness of the CS–US relationship (contingency awareness) and/or the experiment's hypothesis (demand awareness); awareness not always necessary for EC.

Counterconditioning (Baeyens et al., 1989)

Acquisition with CS-US followed by conditioning CS with an opposite US to reverse CS valence; test and extinction phases.

Postacquisition Revaluation (Baeyens et al., 1992)

Revaluing the US after acquisition can alter the CS valence upon re-test.

Conceptual-Categorisation Account (Davey, 1994)

EC as concept learning: CS contains likeable/unlikeable elements; pairing highlights US-congruent features leading to recategorisation rather than valence change.

Holistic Account (Martin & Levey)

EC as a basic form of learning with a holistic CS–US representation; includes US valence and explains resistance to extinction and certain revaluation results.

Sensory Preconditioning (Hammerl & Grabitz, 1996)

Weakness of holistic account: CS1–CS2 training followed by CS2–US can produce CS1 effects, showing preconditioning effects.

Referential Account (Baeyens, 1992)

EC involves referential (signal/expectancy) learning: valence changes to the CS reflect associative expectations, not just a simple reflex.